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At least four houses were razed by fire at Purok Masinadyahon, Barangay Pahanocoy, Bacolod City, on Wednesday evening, November 27.
City Fire Marshal Superintendent Jenny Mae Masip said yesterday the fire started at the two-story house owned by Regina Pagunsan at about 9:25 p.m.
The fire immediately spread to other houses that were made of light materials.
Masip said a total of three houses were destroyed and one house was damaged.
She said they had difficulty penetrating the area because of the narrow passageways and that it was also challenging to use the water hose to reach the affected area.
The fire was put out at about 9:55 p.m. and destroyed at least P229,770 worth of properties.
Investigation showed the fire started on the second floor of Pagunsan’s house due to an overheated home appliance.
Masip said Pagunsan and her family were not around when the fire incident happened.
Before leaving the house, she said the family members failed to unplug the laptop inside the room of Pagunsan’s child.
Masip noted that Purok Masinadyahon, Barangay Pahanocoy was one of the identified red zones in Bacolod City.
Masip said of 61 barangays, Bacolod City has a total of 285 identified red zones.
She said these red zones are hard-to-reach areas with no applied regulations for fire safety, adding that they already conducted a data gathering in the identified red zone areas.
The BFP urged Bacolodnons to ensure that their electrical appliances are unplugged, surroundings are regularly cleaned from combustible rubbish, and no embers are left unattended after cooking.
They also advised the public to avoid overloaded electrical connections and have their wirings regularly checked by competent electricians while those that are corroded or dysfunctional should be replaced. /MAP.